The Naked Truth

Twenty pairs of eyes stare in your direction, intent on memorizing the curl of your lips, the wrinkles on your brow, the curve of your shoulder. You feel a cold breeze against your back. Shivering, you realize the tiny goose bumps that appear on your skin result from being completely naked. If you think this is your worst nightmare, think again.\nThis is Jeremy Pugh's after-school job.\nBloomington resident Pugh, 21, has been posing for the School of Fine Arts for two months. Each year, students choose to pose nude to pick up some extra money and appear in the paintings or drawings of fine art majors. Pugh says he pursued the opportunity because he doesn't enjoy the average job.\n"I never have enjoyed the nine to five, punching in a time card, answering to a boss, kind of job," he says. "(Modeling) seemed to offer something exciting and different."\nAlthough Pugh thinks of nude modeling as exciting and different, he understands that many people would be frightened to appear nude in front of strangers.\n"I have an ability to kind of block out uncomfortable feelings," he says. "I don't think the human body should be guarded so greatly. I have no problems with it. A lot of people have useless inhibitions that get them nowhere."\nSophomore Jennifer V. True started modeling last year. She says she was motivated to model because she also wanted to try something new. She first modeled with a male, who made her very nervous. But after the first experience, her anxiety disappeared. She now feels comfortable modeling and wishes other people could do the same.\n"Especially in the Midwest, people have problems with (being nude in public) because we're so conservative as a culture," she says. "We don't understand that our bodies are beautiful and we don't need to hide them."\nPugh says being nude can be a liberating experience and can add dimension to a person's character.\n"To me, the most interesting person in the world is a well-rounded person," he says. "When you close yourself off to a certain aspect of life, you're closing yourself off from all these experiences and life enhancing activities. To me, one of them is being nude -- not being ashamed of your body, not being ashamed of what others think of your body."\nHe added that different body types are appreciated and desired by the School of Fine Arts.\n"They want different shapes so they can experience a variety of ways of painting," he says. "That's why the paintings are so interesting. (The students') perceptions differ among a wide range; some people accentuate different parts or spatial relationships change." \nBecause of her interest in art, True says she also enjoys looking at the finished product after she has posed. Seeing the artwork reminds her of the importance of creatively portraying the human body.\n"It's not anything to be embarrassed about," she says. "(Nude modeling) is something to be proud of. It has contributed to art for many many centuries, and it really deserves a lot of respect because it's providing a service for today's and tomorrow's artists."\nTrue also says the perceptions art students have of the human form makes her feel comfortable.\n"There's nothing sexual about it at all," she says. "Everyone who's looking at you sees you not as a naked woman, but as an object to be drawn, as more of a live mannequin. You're there to try to express the beauty of the human body."\nExpressing the human body is easier said than done. Pugh's muscles often begin to ache from standing or sitting in one place for as much as two hours. To avoid growing frustrated, he tries to thinks of anything unrelated to art to distract himself during a session.\nTrue also finds ways to keep her mind off the stillness.\n"You don't sit and look at yourself, you watch teachers and students," she says. "I listen in the classes and really learn from what is going on, if I can see what the students are drawing. If not, I meditate and go over my schedule, think about personal relationships or get a bigger picture of where I want to go. Everybody else disappears, and it's just me sitting there thinking. Then the timer goes off and wakes me up."\nYet she says the extreme patience required to be a nude model is only a small drawback. Being part of a painting or drawing excites her.\n"I love being an inspiration for art," she says. "To be able to inspire people and be a part of some beautiful work, it boosts your self esteem to see yourself as a beautiful person on canvas"